1.2.4 Bosmun
Anita von Poser is an anthropologist who worked with the Bosmun. She has published her doctoral dissertation von Poser, A. 2013, as well as other works von Poser, A. 2011. Though she focuses on the
culture she does make numerous observations that were useful to the goals of the survey among the Bosmun. She found that the Bosmun culture is changing due to new external and internal pressures. This
places the language shift that I documented on the survey see section 3.4 in the context of a greater cultural shift. Her work is thorough and invaluable to understanding not only the Bosmun but also the
greater Madang province as all the people groups struggle to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
1.3 Language names and classification
As stated in section 1.1, the four target language groups are linguistically related to Mbore. The target languages plus Mbore represent the Ottilien sub-group of the Ramu-Lower Sepik language family. The
Ethnologue classification can be charted as follows Lewis 2009:
Note 1: Numbers within parentheses indicate the number of languages in the group. Note 2: Red indicates a language in which PBT currently works; Green indicates target languages.
Figure 1. Ethnologue classification of Ramu-Lower Sepik. The name “Ottilien” comes from the name first given to the Ramu River by a westerner. In 1886,
German Vice-Admiral Freiherr von Schleinitz first sighted the mouth of the Ramu River on an expedition exploring German New Guinea. He named this river “Ottilien” after his ship the Ottilie Souter 1963:73.
Foley argues for a slightly different grouping of the larger Ramu-Lower Sepik family, but is in agreement with figure 1 where it concerns the target languages. He has suggested changing the sub-
group name from “Ottilien” to “Lower Ramu” as it is more easily understood Foley 2005. In this work I will follow Foley’s suggestion and use “Lower Ramu” languages to refer to all five languages.
The names used for the target languages in this report are the official ISO 639-3 names. Bosmun has also been called Bosman and Bosngun. Kayan has been spelled Kaian in other sources. Finally, Marangis
is also known as Watam. It is not uncommon in the region for language names to also be the names of
Ramu-Lower Sepik Kambot 1
Lower Sepik 6 Ramu
Ottilien Borei
Mbore [gai]
Bosmun-Awar Awar [aya]
Bosmun [bqs]
Watam Kayan [kct]
Marangis [wax] Grass 4
Middle Ramu 3 Mikarew 3
Tamolan 6 Tanggu 4
villages. Hence the dual names for the Marangis language, Marangis and Watam, the two villages where it is spoken.
1.4 Population
Table 2 gives population figures for the villages visited on the survey. The projected 2013 population figures were calculated by using the published 3.7 growth rate for Madang Province and 3 for East
Sepik Province National Statistical Office 2002b
4
. The households were individually visited and counted in each village. Finally, the estimated 2013 population is based on 5.46 persons per household
found in Yawar Rural Local Level Government LLG in the 2000 census National Statistical Office 2002a.
5
Table 2. Population figures
Language Village
Name 2000
National Populations
Census Projected 2013
population Actual
Households 2013
Estimated 2013
population
Awar Awar
444 712
110 601
Nubia 386
619 58
317 Sisimagum
160 256
43 235
Totals 990
1587 211
1153 Kayan
Kayan 512
821 145
792 Marangis
Marangis 527
846 142
775 Watam
256 376
57 311
Totals 783
1222 199
1086 Bosmun
Daiden 167
268 35
191 Nemnem
232 372
58 371
Dogan 421
675 100
546 Wamtac
165 265
42 229
Goingbang 2 241
386 79
431 Totals
1226 1996
314 1768
Note: These figures come from the 2000 National Census National Statistical Office 2002a.
6
Only in Goingbang 2 did the estimated population exceed the projected population. It must be remembered that most of the area around these villages has little arable land and cannot support much
population growth. Anita von Poser indicated that the population growth was already on the rise in the area in 2005 and she expressed concern at the ability of the people to produce enough food for this
increase von Poser A. 2011:2.
On this survey I did not look for exact numbers of emigrants from these villages since I did not anticipate it to be a significant factor in language vitality, but it was commented on multiple occasions
4
“All growth rates should be used with caution due to changes in how censuses have been conducted since 1980” National Statistical Office 2002b:9.
5
Though there has been a census completed by the government of Papua New Guinea in 2010 the results are not yet widely distributed.
6
The results from the national 2010 census are not yet widely available.
that more and more young people are choosing to live in town either Bogia or Madang. Though currently only around 5 of the population of PNG lives in urban centers, towns are the only place
where secondary school graduates can find jobs. Nubia had a plantation operated by the Roman Catholic Church. It was closed for reasons I could
not ascertain, but this accounts for the drastic difference between the projected and estimated population figures in that village.
1.5 Survey purpose and goals
Kategori